Milk carton carrier



Feb. 18, 1958 l R. s. CARLSON 2,823,827

MILK CARTON CARRIER Filed April 6, 1954 MILK CARTON CARRIER Reginald S. Carlson, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application April 6, 1954, Serial No. 421,348

1 Claim. (Cl. 220--94) This invention relates to a manual carrier and, more particularly, to a milk carton carrier intended for use by milkmen in the delivery of cartoned milk, cream and other dairy products.

in the past, it has been customary for milkmen to deliver milk in glass bottles, usually of quart and pint capacity and occasionally in half pint and other sizes, the bottles being individually disposed in compartments created by heavy wire construction within a mesh construction of such size and strength requisite for holding the total weight of the bottles and milk disposed therein as well as guarding against stresses and shock such as may be encountered during the delivery by truck and rough handling encountered during transportation and delivery by the milkman.

More recently, it has become customary for milk and dairy products to be packaged and cartoned in paper and cardboard receptacles of the type which is waterproofed by wax or other means, and presenting at least one rectilinear surface. Examples of the foregoing are the squared milk cartons which have rectangular sides and bottom, cheese cartons which are of frusto-conical shape, having squared parallel top and bottom, and other cartons of various sizes and shapes, all of which have at least one flat base surface. In the main, most of the individual packages to be delivered by a milkman will have rectilinear surfaces which can be abutted and compactly condensed in a rectilinear carrier.

If the milkman attempts to use the conventional carrier, he will not conserve space properly and, hence, will be carrying a total weight of products much less than he is capable of carrying and, furthermore, the carrier itself will be heavier and of stronger construction than is necessary.

The present invention contemplates using a carrier of special light construction which will compactly carry such cartons and will permit delivery in any particular trip of a large quantity of products with the same, or less, degree of effort on the part of the milkman.

It is, therefore, a general object of this invention to provide a lightweight, eicient carrier for handling a maximum quantity of milk and other dairy products packaged in rectilinear paper of cardboard containers for easy and quick loading and dispensing.

lt is another object of the invention to provide a carrier which can be manually transported or set upon a firm surface in upright condition and which can hold compactly and in a position for easy removal of any of the prodd ucts disposed therein.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a properly balanced, lightweight carrier with a structure which is designed to maintain a proper center of gravity with respect to the handle of the carrier, irrespective of the number of units or the weight thereof carried therewithin.

Still more specically, it is an object of the invention to provide a device of the class described which is simple i@ States Patent O in design and economical in structure; which will have strong and light characteristics and, further, which will be easy to keep in a clean and sanitary condition.

These and other objects and advantages of my inven tion will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawsame parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my carton carrier, representative cartons placed therein being .indicated in dotted lines; and

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the carton carrier shown in Fig. l, hidden portions of the construction being indicated in dotted lines.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, my invention comprises a plane-sided cradle member 10 which has a pair of vertical side plates 11 which are preferably arranged in spaced parallel relation, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The side plates are preferably of rectilinear structure, presenting a generally V-shaped lower edge 12 and an upwardly extending area which may terminate generally in an apex 13, as shown in Fig. 2. The bottom of the cradle member 10 is preferably formed of rectangular lightweight sheets 14 at the forwardmost side of the carrier, as shown in Fig. l, and a rearward rectangular plate 1S, the two plates forming a lower apex 16 which preferably presents a right-angled trough, as shown in Fig. 2.

Secured to the side plates 11, preferably at the outside surface thereof, is a handle member 17 which comprises a generally U-shaped member having: vertical legs 18 at each side of the carrier, being secured by such means as rivets 19 in spaced relation to the respective side plates 11, as shown in Figs. l and 2. The handle 17 has a connecting portion between the upper ends of legs 18 which is preferably angled inwardly at 20 at each side and connected to a horizontal hand grip 21, as shown in Fig. l. A lower portion 22 of each of the leg members 18 extends somewhat below the side plates 11, as shown in Fig. 2. In order to obtain proper balance and location of the approximate center of gravity of cartons disposed within the carrier, the leg members 18 of the handle are disposed slightly forwardly of the lower apex 16 of the cradle 10, as shown in Fig. 2.

A base member, shown generally at 23, comprises a rectangular support member 24 which is secured in substantially right-angled relation with the` downwardly depending legs 18 of the handle structure 17 and are fastened at the respective ends 22 thereof by such means as rivets 25.

A special base framework is provided for adding strength and rigidity to the carrier without materially increasing the weight thereof. This framework preferably comprises a series of spaced brace members 26 which are generally of W-shaped construction, the rear leg of each being indicated at 27, the upper end of which is secured as by rivets 28 to the rearward and bottom plate 15 of the cradle 10. Each of the lower ends of legs 27 is secured as by a rivet 29 to the rearward portion of the base member 24. The upwardly angled extension of rear leg 27 of each of the W-shaped brace members 26 is indicated at 30 and is in aligned contact with the forward bottom plate 14 of the cradle member 1t), as shown in Fig. 2. This extension 31? may be secured to the cradle member or may merely rest thereagainst. The extension 30 of each of the W-shaped members 26 is then angled downwardly at 31 toward the forward portion of the base 24 and then terminates upwardly in the forward leg 32, as shown in Fig. 2. The leg 32 of each of the W- shaped brace members 26 may be secured to the forward portion of base 24 by such means as rivets 33, and the ings wherein the same reference characters refer to the` upper end of each of the members by such means as rivets 34' may be secured to the plate 14 of the cradle member 10.

The particular arrangement of parts is such as to provide a. cradle member with handle and base supports, the upper end of the cradle being angled rearwardly and the side or delivery portion of the cradle being angled upwardly and forwardly. The arrangement is such that the supporting plate 14 forms an angle somewhat less than 45 with the bottom of the base 24. The rearward plate 15" is disposed in such a manner as to form an angle somewhat greater than 45 with the base 24. As previously pointedA out, the apex 16 between thev base plates 14 andV 15 is disposed slightly to the rear of the center line of handle 17 to achievethe balance which I desire. It is understood that I may provide a cardboard or paper liner for the inside surface of cradle member 10.

In the use and operation of my carton carrier, rectangular, cartons, containing products such as milk, cream, cheese, buttermilk, fruitjuices and the like are indicated generally at 35. These cartons may be disposed with their sides or bottoms resting upon either of the plates 14 or `15 and may be piled one on the other with a rectilinear surface downwardly disposed either to rest upon the plate itself or upon aplain surface of one of the other cartons disposed therein. The cartons 35 may, with a small amount'ofpractice on thepart of the milkman, be so disposed that lower cartons can be` removed at will, permitting the upper cartons to fall downwardly and replace the cartons removed. Removal of any of the cartons will cause shifting of the remaining cartons and'working ofthe center of gravity downwardly adjacent the plane formed by the' U-shaped handle element 17, thereby maintaining a substantially vertical gravity pull on the handle at all times. At the same time, the cradle is so disposed that the forward'side presents a more open and easily accessible disposition than the. rearward side. Additionally, the portion of cradle 10 which' lies rearwardly of the handle element'17 is that which will be disposed toward the bodyofithemilk carrier and this portion has less lateral protrusion than. the forward side, thus minimizing the likelihood of bumping and rubbing against the milkmans leg.

It may thus be seen that I have devised a unique and novel 'carrier for dairy product cartons which will minimize the elforts of the milkman while, at the same time, providing a neat and sanitary structure.

It will, of course, be understood, that various changes may be made in the form, detail, arrangement and proportion of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

A carrier for stacked rectilinear packages such as are employed for dairy products, which comprises a cradle structure having a pair of spaced parallel vertical sides, an upwardly and forwardly angled plate secured at the bottom thereof andanother plate upwardly and rearwardly secured at the bottom of said cradle, said forwardly angled plate forming a lesser angle with the horizontal than said rearwardly angled plate, a rigid handleelement ixedly attached to the vertical sides and extending upwardly and over said cradle in spaced relation with the uppermost portion thereof, said plates joining and forming a lower trough, the apex of which lies somewhat rearwardly of the plane defined by said handle element, said rearwardly angled plate protruding a lesser distance from the plane of the rigid handle than the forwardly angled plate, said plates being of substantially the same length from said apex to their outer free edges, a base member secured at the underside of'said cradle and extending both forwardly andrearwardly of said apex to define a supporting surface at. substantially right angles to said handle member, the angular dispositions of said plates being such in respectto each other and the position of said handle member whereby a plurality of rectilinear packages may be maintained in the cradle structure for ready dispensing at the forward side thereof,.the packages tending to assume a center of gravity approximately in the plane dened by the. handle.

References Cited inthel leof this patent UNITED` STATES PATENTS 187,315 Richards Feb. 13, 1877 369,962 Ringen Sept. 13, 1887 728,018 Roudil May l2, 1903 1,233,206 Eibel July 10, 1917 

